Like Copilot, Like Captain: The Importance of Left-Seat Mentoring

With the airline industry now upgrading at warp speed, the opportunity for these pilots to experience all types of leadership remains limited.

Les Abend

Wednesday, March 20, 2024 at 09:29 AM ET

Verified

As of April 2023, all Part 121 carriers are required to have a leadership and command program in addition to mentor training for captains. [Adobe Stock]

Key Takeaways:

The author recounts challenging early career experiences with diverse captains, including one who was combative and dismissive of crew input, and another who, though well-meaning, struggled with people skills and made an embarrassing radio blunder.
Despite the difficulties, the author views these varied interactions as an invaluable informal mentoring process that critically shaped their own leadership and command skills for when they became a captain.
Recognizing the limitations of informal learning and rapid pilot promotions today, the airline industry now mandates formal leadership, command, and mentor training programs to ensure new captains are well-prepared.

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I stepped across the cockpit door threshold. The captain was in the process of testing the weather radar on board our Boeing 727. Shuffling behind the flight engineer and slithering into the copilot seat, I glanced at the green screen of the old but reliable RCA display. It took more art than skill to operate.

With a scowl on his face, Captain Dave turned to our wet-behind-the-ears flight engineer and said, “Call maintenance. The radar is spoking in the video band.”